The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has been providing a variety of ways to expedite patent examination. However, one of the ironies of this accelerated patent examination system is that the more it is used, the more…READ MORE

The Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB) of the Korean Intellectual Property Office recently released interesting data showingtrends of IPTAB trials involved in intellectual property (IP) disputes over the past …READ MORE

As consumer interest in healthcare grows, the number of trademark applications for foods and functional foods has also continued to increase. Trademarks for foods, including functional foods, which are directly related to the h…READ MORE

How are signature designs such as the Hermès Birkin bag, the Chanel No. 5 perfume bottle, or Disney’s Mickey Mouse character protected in Korea? Regardless of whether such designs are registered or their rights expired, protect…READ MORE

The South Korean Design Protection Act has recently been revised to provide an expanded window for filing related designs, and to relax procedural requirements for novelty grace period claims and priority claims. The revisions …READ MORE

South Korea is following a roadmap to commercialise Level-4 autonomous vehicles by 2027. Further, the environment is favourable for quick, accurate, and reliable patent protection through various systems, such as newly updated …READ MORE

The Supreme Court of Korea ruled on an interesting design case on February 23 2023 (Supreme Court Decision 2021Hu10473).In Korea, the grace period for novelty of a design application is 12 months, like in a patent application. H…READ MORE

In February 2023, the Korean Supreme Court issued two significant decisions in long-running disputes over the two patents covering AstraZeneca’s blockbuster Forxiga (dapagliflozin), the first SGLT-2 inhibitor anti-diabetic. The…READ MORE

In the lunar calendar, 2023 is the Year of the Black Rabbit. The rabbit is associated with many positive traits in Eastern culture, such as wit, prosperity, gentility, and swiftness. Since the start of 2023, the Korean Intellec…READ MORE

In the wake of the outbreak of the COVID pandemic, there has been a substantial shift from the real world to the metaverse in the way trademarks are used. South Korea, an IT leader and content/design powerhouse, is one of the c…READ MORE

BackgroundPatenting polymorphs of crystalline forms of chemical compounds is a very important patent strategy, particularly for pharmaceutical companies when they wish to make their patent portfolios strong and long-lasting. Ho…READ MORE

South Korea allows a one-year grace period for pre-filing disclosures by inventors or applicants so that these disclosures are not regarded as prejudicial prior art in terms of novelty and inventiveness (Article 30 of the Paten…READ MORE

The number of artificial intelligence (AI) patent filings has grown rapidly in Korea recently. In line with this trend, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) updated its Examination Guidelines for AI Inventions in earl…READ MORE

Readers may have heard of names such as Squid Game, Blackpink, Baby Shark, and BTS. Collectively called K-content, such K-pop, K-drama, and K-culture are gaining popularity not only in Korea, but all over the world.With the exp…READ MORE

As of April 20 2022, the revisions to the South Korean Patent Act (KPA) became effective. The major changes include:1. A longer period for responding to a final rejection;2. An expanded window for requesting re-examination even …READ MORE